You May Have Eaten Cow Heart Or Tongue (Or Both) Without Knowing

This burger looks delicious but do you know what's inside? It's might be more than just beef.

My son and I used to come across whole cow tongue's sold at Walmart while living in Springfield, MO and we were totally grossed out.

Today I have learned parts of a cow tongue (and heart) could be in ground beef.

That's right, the beef you buy at any Rockford grocery store may contain cow heart and/or cow tongue and you might now even know. This isn't by accident and it does not have to be specified on the label.

According to U.S.D.A. Food Safety and Inspection Service,

There is no limitation on the use of beef heart meat in the standards of identity for chopped beef, ground beef, or hamburger. Therefore, beef heart meat can be used in unlimited quantities and declared as "beef" on the label.

The question is - can you taste the heart or tongue? The answer is "maybe."

WGN-TV shared this chunk of info:

Heart meat is high in iron and some producers say you can taste the iron in any ground beef product that’s 10 percent heart muscle.

Grossed out? You shouldn't be.

Unless you're a vegetarian or vegan you've probably consumed hundreds of pounds of ground beef in your life - so why stop eating it now?